Grant Dawson and Joe Solecki at the UFC 302 official weigh-in. Photo by Dylan Napoleone/Cageside Press
In a duel of grappling specialists at UFC 302, Grant Dawson handily defeated Joe Solecki in a slow-burn fight.
Skilled wrestler/grappler Grant Dawson was ranked until his last bout, his first main event appearance, in which he was knocked unconscious by Bobby Green. He faced jiu-jitsu specialist Joe Solecki. Solecki has been inactive lately, but he did beat the legendary Jim Miller and had a 5-2 record going into this bout.
There is a faction of fans that just don’t like grappling, and if they could point to one fight as evidence of their preference, this would be it, because Joe Solecki couldn’t stop Grant Dawson from taking him down and dominating.
Grant Dawson got a takedown early in the first round, but Solecki used a guillotine well to put Dawson in a tight spot early on. The heavy favorite escaped, however, and was back on top, applying intense pressure on Joe. Solecki moved to the fence to get up, but Dawson held him down and unleashed a flurry of ground strikes. At one point, Solecki also landed an elbow that cut Dawson above his eye. Both fighters were covered in blood by the end of the round. That was pretty much the end of the excitement in this bout.
Dawson easily got another takedown in the second round. Solecki’s jiu-jitsu based mindset (jiu-jitsu without wrestling) meant he never even tried to get off his back, and he never would. Grant Dawson was a highly skilled grappler and a very good wrestler. This crucial difference made Grant Dawson a more than 5-to-1 favorite in the pre-fight betting.
The only difference in the third round was that it started with a foul from a blow to the groin, but Dawson recovered and again took Joe Solecki down against the fence. The bout ended with very little action, with Grant Dawson winning comfortably on the scorecards, with only one judge giving Solecki the win in the first round.
Official result: Grant Dawson defeats Joe Solecki via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
